Updating my PC for BFBC3

[CrAp]

yes but i dont think 350w is enough to support a performance gpu

[Redddraggon]

yes but i dont think 350w is enough to support a performance gpu

Yes 350W is pretty low, and it's always better to have a bit of overhead anyway. I tend to go for 650/700W PSUs in my builds.

[Redddraggon]

TBH I'd go for something a bit better than that 550 as it's little more than a side step from your HD5670, and upgrade your PSU while you are at it.

I know it looks a bit pricey, but if I was your position I'd stick with what you have now or be a bit more ambitious and get something a bit higher level.

[Tempest]

Right quick question, do I want two 4GB DDR2 chips or four 2GB DDR2 chips. I'm not going to upgrade my whole rig but this might be a very easy win if combined with an upgrade to 64 bit windows...

I'm not sure if I have the ready cash for a quadcore processor. Anyone got an opinion RAM or QUADCORE?

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
Display Memory: 1510 MB
Memory: 2048MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz

[Redddraggon]

Right quick question, do I want two 4MB DDR2 chips or four 2MB DDR2 chips. I'm not going to upgrade my whole rig but this might be a very easy win if combined with an upgrade to 64 bit windows...

I don't think BF3 will run very on 8MB of Mem Tempest :p.

However from my experience of the DDR2 dual channel boards, they run better with only 2 slots out of 4 occupied, so I'd say go for the 2x4GB option.

[shutteh]

350W ? think about the effectiveness. if its a good one you have a 80% effeictiveness.

350W is to less for a new system. dont wounder about mysterious problems if you try it.

@tempest its better to use a dual channel system instead of using every slot. there are a lot of tests which shows that the system gets slower if you use every ram slot. and its faster as normal if you use the dual channel mode. or the triple channel if your cpu use triple channel.

[Tempest]

Thanks, looks like the more expensive option for the RAM. Thanks for the quick response, so quick I couldn't edit for the next question...

I'm not sure if I have the ready cash for a quadcore processor. Anyone got an opinion RAM or QUADCORE?

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
Display Memory: 1510 MB
Memory: 2048MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz

[Redddraggon]

Tempest, I'd not bother upgrading a LGA775 rig with anything more than RAM or GPU. Start saving for a current gen system

[bambam]

@tempest you have a 8800GTX? I'm guessing mem on that is 768MB but I'll be impressed if you've got some version that cranks that up to 1.5GB as in your post. In any case the video memory comes OFF your 4GB address space if you've got a 32 bit OS so you have to go 64 bit pretty much with that card anyway. RAM is very cheap at the moment (it varies a lot) so I don't see really why you wouldn't put two 4GB sticks in and run with 8GB (£60). I'm no so convinced teh 4-sticks/2-sticks argument is that significant compared to other components in your system (e.g. overclock) Re teh GPU 8800GTX I think you'd get roughtly double the performance for around £100 e.g. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... 56&subcat= Re the CPU I don't think you're going to make a massive difference to a 775-socket PC - I think you should be able to overclock the 6600 easily though.

@crappy you're probably right you *will* have to upgrade the PSU to move higher up the graphics card stack, so it depends how much you are going to spend. In general my main comment is spend more on the graphics card and less on the PSU.

[shutteh]

@tempest its not effektiv if you change the cpu and still run with 2 gb ram.
first you should upgrade your ram and then the cpu or both at the same time.

Sockel 775 is a good one. the Q9550 is a great cpu but its a little bit expansive you can overclock it to 4 ghz if you want it. but i dont think that you need a quadcore at the moment.

and crappy dont save to much on the psu or you will get a very loud one

its a pc and one of your hobby, dont save at anything and waste your money!

[Para]

Money is very tight for me just now too and i am also looking for a quick fix for BF3 my system is about 6yrs old now and at the time cost me 2K ! the current specs are:

Core2Duo E6700
Asus P5DH delux Mobo
Corsair 700w Psu
Asus HD 5770 Gpu
4 Gb Corsair Xms DDR2 800Mhz
Windows 7 64Bit os

all running at 1920 x 1080 resolution

is it worth beefing up the RAM to 8Gb ? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(2x2 ... s-5-5-5-18

and the GPU to this ? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-asus ... -dvi-2x-dp

Or just sticking with what i have got, and saving like a bastard for a new system ?

[Redddraggon]

Or just sticking with what i have got, and saving like a bastard for a new system ?

Sounds like a plan, I'm sure you can find a street corner somewhere to stand on and earn some dosh.


Personally I would not sink cash into a LGA775 system.

[Gavac220]

Tempest, the quickest, most effective, and FREE upgrade is to get that Q6600 cranked up to 3.2GHz on air! Very easy to do, and I can walk you through it if you want. Loads of posts on the net with graphical guides too. Google is your friend.

Then get the Ram.

Then start saving, as doing the above will tide you over for a while.

[bambam]

@Para I think your new graphics card is really the best you can do to improve BF3 performance for the money. I looked around and the cheapest I could find the 6870 was at overclockers.co.uk (£139.99):

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productli ... subid=1866

I reckon the 6850 and 6870 have pretty close performance, so if you *really* want to shave off £30 quid the 6850 wouldn't (IMHO) be much of a compromise (for £109.99).

BFBC2 charts available here:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphi ... 0-review/8

The way computer games go I do think it's a safe bet the component you'd most likely be discarding from any old PC when you replace it is the GPU, so it's possible the 6850 lasts out your E6700 machine (classsic...) and you tough it out for a big spend on the next rig. Subtle, but I'm not sure the 6870 would extend the life longer, and you'd still chuck it out on the next machine. But hey, 6870 gives you a bit more poke than a 6850 (see charts above).

bamz

[Para]

Been searching on good old ebay, and i can get a second Ati HD5770 for about £40 that i could put into crossfire with the existing one and an extra 4Gb of Corsair ram for about £25.

for about £70 would this be worth it to tide me over till i can afford a new system ?
or should i blow the £140 on a compleatly new Gpu HD 6870 to give me the performance boost ?